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I doubt I'll do a full write up but, in short, Bright Midnight was a blast.

Absolutely loved the route and don't know if I could have picked a better first ultra. Even in the pouring rain, with aching knees and generally smelling absolutely atrocious, the scenery was so varied and impressive that any "fuck this" thoughts were instantly dismissed.

Was overbiked for most of the route, had a blast on the hike a bike sections, first time I've done any long climbs or descents, ate so much junk, met some great people but avoided any drama, rode through a couple of nights, camped, cabin-ed and treated myself to a fancy hotel, saw a snake, met a corgi, completely forgot about work, was the only person with panniers #onelesstailfin.

Justinas is the nicest guy and I really hope this event runs again.

I'm away for a couple of days, will check when I get back. Same goes for other bits.

Poorly composed photos to demonstrate the complete lack of gravel in Norway but plenty of SFAB.

No problem!

As expected, there's a whole bunch of Delamere bits you could squeeze in on Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/guide/3468971/gravel-biking-around-delamere

Another route with gravel-y section from Frodsham towards Marbury country park, you could then follow NCN 70 back to Chester, calling through Delamere on the way: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43513849

As the title says, this is a very lazy loop and includes the bits @El_Tomba mentions. Apologies in advance for the stinky cycle path next to the main road at Stanlow.

I've just gone straight through Delamere to Kelsall Cycles on this, I can never remember the loops around Delamere, and they've put in some new blue MTB trails that look fun for a gravel bike. If you check Komoot or something I'm sure you'll find some decent routes around there.

The station cafe in Delamere has more character than the visitor center. Kelsall cycles used to have a bunch of gravel routes on their website but it seems to have had an overhaul. They have a cafe too.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47318288

Will try and dig something out this evening. What sort of distance?

Heading towards Delamere and around that area might be your best bet.

Where can I get a compact ~65W EU charger in the UK? Ideally with folding prongs, like Anker's Prime 67W GaN Wall Charger.

I'm assuming the chances of picking something like this up at midnight in Oslo Gardermoen airport will be pretty slim.

Will there be bike parking at the event?

Bike parking will be available outside both venues. You must bring your own lock to securely lock your bicycle to the A-frames. Neither BESPOKED nor the venue can be held responsible for bicycles parked outside.

https://www.bespoked.cc/faqs

I thought Dan had opened a new place with a couple of other people, but can't remember the name.

Maybe @TheBonk might have a better idea?

Should be there at some point on Saturday with a few Manchester bike people.

There's the Wizard Works/Keep Pedalling coffee outside on Friday morning for early birds too.

Sun's been out for an hour or two, what and where are people buying hydration tablets in the post-Wiggle, new Nuun recipe world?

Picked some brand up from tesco and they're pretty grim.

If you're using plastic pipe, do you need the 90 degree bend in the middle or can you just run a curve and save fitting/reduce number of things that might leak?

Are you clipping the pipe to anything for support and to reduce movement as it gets warm?

Some fancy looking stainless stuff over at https://hexcomponents.com/

Good to meet you too! Seeing the Neutrino overtake the impatient Rangerover on the way down from Woodhouses made me laugh.

Thanks for the hint, would never have found that on my own!

I regret not getting these with the bike (ignore the gubbins on the right hand side...)

Must not buy more ti bars...

I'm no engineer, but it seems like there'll be some flex in the bolt and I doubt bolts are designed to tolerate that. It either snaps or flexes enough times to unwind the nut a touch or wear the brass spacer, loosening things off and flexing more and then snapping.

Maybe I'm over cautious as I've had a bodge-free rack fail there before and go into the wheel. It wasn't fun.

A toe strap or few loops of paracord won't prevent failure but should give you enough time to respond in the even of failure.

You're putting a strap between the headtube and rack right? Right?! 😬

Should we expect another ice cream paint scheme?

Calipers coming out later. Will try a new headset lower too.

Perfect, thanks! Not sure why I couldn't find that on RWGPS. Maybe I need another coffee..

@hippy do you have a GPX for the Pendle 600?

Saw you rode it on YACF but RideWithGPS links all 404.

Tyvek is waterproof enough for a groundsheet. It might seem a bit bulky, although you can wash or tumble dry it to soften it up (I can never remember which). The homewrap stuff is about 63gsm.

No idea about tent floors beyond a generic suggestion for silnylon, silpoly or DCF. I'd probably check through a handful of cottage manufacturers and see if they mention the fabric spec for that purpose.

Suppliers: point north might have something if you're back in the UK otherwise it's probably shipping from ripstop by the roll, extrem textil, quest outfitters.

Black Mountain Cycles MCD. Might be a tad pricey but you don't see many over here. I've just built up my Road+ again and had forgotten how nicely that rides.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335424030736